SO that's two parties down, one to follow on Friday . . . and who knows what celebrations lie in store next May?

The season may be halfway through, but Everton's cup is over-flowing.

The Blues followed the Christmas bash by staging their annual staying up party - three months earlier than last season's, five days before the end of the year and with the season exactly at the halfway point.

And a lively, spiky, occasionally fractious 2-1 defeat of Manchester City, coupled with the 37 points already garnered before Boxing Day, has now given the Blues the security to push on to all manner of unexpected treats in the New Year.

Top ten? UEFA Cup? Maybe even the incredible dream of the Champions League? Who knows?

That is all in the future. The present shows Everton clear in third, eight points clear of fifth placed Middlesbrough, and still grinding out results as if their lives depended on it.

Until Marcus Bent's 62nd minute winner, this game was in the balance.

But if the end result was unpredictable until that point, some things in life are nailed-on certainties.

Like Santa taking one nibble out of the mince pie left out for him - but drinking all the scotch - Robbie Fowler scoring on Boxing Day, and an Everton-Manchester City clash throwing up a goal celebration controversy.

Tim Cahill kept his shirt on this time after ending a 13-match scoring drought, but Robbie Fowler couldn't keep his emotional after-burner under control.

For the fourth year in succession the man Goodison loves to hate scored the day after Christmas.

And not for the first time he found himself in hot water.

An elaborately constructed goal celebration in April 1999 wasn't punished by referee David Elleray.

Yesterday Fowler raced half-the-length of the Gwladys Street and almost the full stretch of Bullens Road, smacking his head furiously. It was Manchester City's first headed goal of the season, you see.

But contained in those manic gestures was a career's worth of taunting, abuse and villification from Everton fans.

He was booked - and guaranteed that the abuse volume control was twisted up from snooze-level to window-shaking levels for the rest of the afternoon.

Fortunately for Everton, Fowler's 42nd minute bullet-header made little difference to the game's eventual outcome - thanks to Thomas Graves-en's cool head. Now there's a phrase you don't often hear.

One of the more infuriating aspects of Gravesen's game is his refusal to take the obvious option . .

. why do something simple when you can try the much harder alternative?

But it was just that bloody-mindedness which brought about Everton's hard-earned victory.

Tony Hibbert charged aggressively down the right, but produced a disappointing cross. Even more disappointing for City was the half-clearance which found Gravesen about 15 yards from goal.

With the massed banks of the Gwladys Street screaming for a piledriver, Gravesen teed the ball up, and dinked it ever so delicately into the six yard box for Marcus Bent to end his own personal goalscoring drought with a firm header.

After that City self-destructed with a series of reckless and silly challenges.

They remain the Premiership's great inconsistents. Capable of beating Chelsea - still the only domestic team to achieve that feat this season - they are equally as likely to lose at home to Arsenal reserves.

But if this wasn't exactly a must-win match for Everton, with two difficult away games looming it was certainly a could-do with winning match. They did so, and ended a barren run for Tim Cahill in the process.

The little Australian has been unnecessarily hard on himself in recent weeks.

His contribution to Everton has been more than just expertly poached goals from midfield - but after failing to score since the trip to Portsmouth back in September - his drought appeared to be weighing heavily on his shoulders.

The spring in his step was back and the confidence was there for all to see - like the way Everton have been playing all season, and there's no sign of it disappearing just yet.